Biodynamic Agriculture - Biodynamic Method of Farming

Biodynamic Method of Farming

In common with other forms of organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture uses management practices that "restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony." Central features include crop diversification, the avoidance of chemical soil treatments and off-farm inputs generally, decentralized production and distribution, and the consideration of celestial and terrestrial influences on biological organisms.

Biodynamic farmers seek to integrate soil, crops, animals, and society as interdependent parts of a holistically conceived and self-sustaining ecological entity. Important features include the use of livestock manures to sustain plant growth (recycling of nutrients), maintenance and improvement of soil quality, and the health and well being of crops and animals. Cover crops, green manures and crop rotations are used extensively and the farms foster the bio-diversity of plant, insect, bird, and other animal life. They also work to enhance the biological cycles and the biological activity of the soil.

Biodynamic farms often have a cultural component and encourage local community, both through developing local sales and through on-farm community building activities. Some biodynamic farms use the Community Supported Agriculture model, which has connections with social threefolding.

BD farming practices have been found to be more resilient to environmental challenges, to foster a diverse biosphere, and to be more energy efficient; factors of increasing importance in the face of climate change, energy scarcity and population growth.